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Double Digit Rises for Heating and Electricity-EDF

EDF, the French owned utility company has announced that cost of heating and electricity will go up, leading the last round of energy price increases. EDF has raised prices of gas by 22 per cent and of electricity by 17%. This increase translates to around £200 per annum for a dual fuel bill. At the moment an average dual fuel bill of an EDF customer stands on £1,211.With around 5.5 million customers in the UK, around 3.25 million (59%) customers on standard and variable rates will be affected by the latest rises. It is expected that other utility companies will follow suit soon. According to consumer groups, fuel prices could rise by up to 40% this year, bringing the cost of a typical households energy bill to £1,467.Centrica, owner of British Gas, has commissioned a report recently that has predicted that gas bills themselves could spiral to more than £1,000 per annum by year 2010. Wholesale energy prices which increased by around 70% since the beginning of th ...
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Baxi Boilers Sees Debt Downgraded

Baxi, the boiler manufacturers owned by a private equity fund has come under severe pressure recently as the credit crunch started to impact highly leveraged buy out investments. BC Partners, the owners of Baxi, has seen first quarter profits plunge, while debts pile up. Rating agency Standard & Poors has downgraded the companys credit rating based on the latest financial results that showed the extent of the problem. The credit rating for Baxi was downgraded from B to B-. The rating agency cites “weak credit protection measures and further weakening business conditions”. The B- rating means that Baxi is now six notches below investment grade and well into junk bonds territory.Baxi, based in Derby and known for its Potterton, Valor and Homeflame brands, employs 5,400 staff around Europe and more that 2,000 staff in the UK. In 2007, BC Partners had to inject £40 million into the company to avoid breaching banking covenants on its debt of £587 million.The down ...
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